Tattoos
by crxigtuckers
Summary: Life's hard when you have to hide visible signs that you're in love with your three closest friends. (C4) (Inspiration from a tumblr post)
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't that he hadn't expected to get a tattoo ever. And it wasn't like he thought he would only receive a tattoo when he was an adult. It was more the fact that, over time, he got three tattoos. Three, very familiar, tattoos. The tattoos he'd seen on the ankles of his three closest friends multiple times.

Luckily, all three tattoos- symbols unique to his friends ankles- appeared in places easy enough to hide.

Token's symbol had appeared in the general area of where one would have a tramp stamp. His solution was to always be careful with his shirts, and he hadn't gone swimming since the symbol of the rich black boy had appeared all those years ago.

Tweek's symbol appeared on his thigh. He felt glad it didn't feel like a tattoo he'd chosen to get, because it would have hurt like hell. He just hadn't worn any short shorts in that time, and nobody noticed anything. He was glad for that, otherwise he would have been questioned on it heavily. It didn't help that Tweek and Craig were already dating, each others symbols proudly displayed on Craig's neck and Tweek's wrist.

Speaking of Craig- his symbol was on his skin too. It rested dangerously close to his own tattoo- difficult to hide when people wanted to check it out. He always ended up awkwardly holding his ankle, fingers barely hiding the other boys symbol.

At first he hadn't realized his feelings for any of the three boys, so the first tattoo had been very confusing. Looking down at his thigh one day while he was taking a shit and seeing Tweek's wild symbol that somewhat resembled a crudely drawn rectangle with lines dashing through it, scribbles surrounding it- it oddly suited the twitchy blonde- was a pretty big surprise. He spent weeks after that pondering over his feelings, before determining he was- as Kenny had so kindly provided- Pansexual. Gender had never come into mind before that, and when really thinking, he had realized he didn't give a shit.

Months later, he finally spotted the tramp stamp of a love-symbol. The swirly, fancy-looking symbol was immediately recognized as that of Token Black. It both suited him, yet it was the farthest possible thing it could be. And it exasperated him, because he thought he was in love with Tweek.

He later determined that the symbol had been there for much longer than Tweek's, because it was the only thing that made sense. He must have fallen in love with Token earlier, and gotten over it. Right? All a sub-conscious process.

He would have said it was platonic love, as many people often received, but at the same time it didn't fit. If it was platonic love it would have appeared much earlier, along with Tweek and Craig at the same time. Maybe even Jimmy would be there; Clyde adored the comedian.

It was less than a year ago that Craig's appeared, too. It sent a wave of panic through him when he spotted it, having been mindlessly pulling his socks on as he readied for school. The curves and jagged edges of the abstract thing making up Craig's symbol glared up at him, taunting him. As if it was trying to say "congratulations, Clyde. You fell in love with all three of your closest friends, and if they find out, you'll be screwed."

Obviously not because he couldn't give less of a damn about gender- South Park had been seen as a rather progressive place since the Whole Foods had been put in years ago. And the effect had lasted, long afterwards. Hopefully not just because of the store.

But rather, he'd be screwed because Tweek and Craig loved each other, and Token and Nichole had been going strong for years. He had caught a brief glimpse of what he could only assume was Nichole's symbol on Token's back, as well. He loved her.

Having kept the secret of his previous tattoos for years, Clyde easily kept this new one. Although it hurt to keep it from his friends- from the boys that he discovered he loved in a more than friendly way.

Not that being friends wasn't enough- platonic love was amazing, and spending what little time he could with his friends was amazing. It didn't matter if they didn't love him back in that way. So long as he could be around them the way he was. It didn't matter how much it hurt, knowing that the three boys loved someone else. Not at all.

It wasn't as if every time he saw Craig and Tweek sitting together he wished he could be between them, or every time he saw he saw Token and Nichole kiss his heart squeezed. So long as the boys he loved were happy.

So long as they were safe and happy, it was all that mattered. They were all that mattered.

"Have you really not gotten a single tattoo yet? Not even a platonic tattoo?" Token questioned, one arm resting on Nichole's shoulders and the other using his fork to poke at the moldy tater tots on his tray. Why he insisted on buying the horrible cafeteria food, nobody had a single clue.

"Nope." Clyde shook his head, taking another bite of the sad attempt at a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich he'd made that morning. "Tattoo-less. Unless tattoos can show up actually inside you." He lied around a mouthful of bread and condiments. He felt bad, lying to his friends, but he'd feel even worse lying about what the tattoos he did have meant.

"Bebe said she could've sworn she saw a tattoo on your lower back." Nichole remarked, maybe in case he had somehow missed it.

"Clahde has a tramp stamp?" Cartman, who sat at the opposite end of the table, asked with a smirk.

"No, I do not." The brunette protested, shaking his head. "Bebe must have been seeing things. Trust me, I've checked, and the only tattoo I have is my own."

"Maybe Clyde's just in love with himself." The nasally voice of Craig piped up. Who knew he had been listening? Sometimes he got so caught up with his boyfriend he blocked out the rest of the world.

"Hey! Just because I have confidence doesn't mean I'm in love with myself. " He shot a playful glare at his friend, who simply shrugged.

"How do you go almost 18 years and not get a single tattoo?" Stan Marsh, who wore the platonic symbol of his best friend and romantic symbol of Wendy Testaburger, asked.

The boy had gotten both tattoos years and years ago, and made no effort to hide either of them despite he and Wendy breaking it off permanently.

Clyde shifted awkwardly, casting his gaze to the table. He thought they had gotten over his lack of tattoos years ago, but he supposed with passing time they had expected him to have one.

"I have a very specific set of standards for a romantic partner, and I guess I just.. don't feel that strongly about anyone, I dunno." He shrugged, avoiding looking up at his friends.

"I don't think that's entirely unreasonable. Very unexpected for someone like Clyde, but I think it's possible." Kyle piped up, his brother's symbol moving on his cheek and Stan's symbol almost moving from it's position on the side of his neck.

It had been rumored that the ginger had another symbol somewhere easier hidden, but Kyle had simply ignored the question every time it was brought up, so nobody could really say what the answer was.

"Clyde has to be hiding something." Kenny stated as he slid into his seat between Kenny and Cartman, to make sure the two boys didn't fight. Although their arguments had toned down in recent years, Kenny always declared one could never be too safe.

Even Kenny, who still slept around at times, had some symbols. Although nobody was really sure which were some form of romance and which were some form of platonic.

Craig's symbol, the one that constantly mocked Clyde to this day, sat on his temple. When questioned he simply shrugged it off, saying he was grateful for the way Craig affected his life. Nobody believed that.

His arms and legs seemed to be speckled with symbols as well- although not a large amount. Among them people had spotted those of Stan and Kyle, and in the middle of his back was the unmistakable symbol of one Wendy Testaburger.

According to the guy himself, he just had a big heart and platonicly loved a lot of people. Too bad for him, a lot of people just assumed he got crushes easily. Romance-orientated society was a bitch.

"What? Dude, no. I'm not hiding anything." Clyde protested, gaze snapping up to look at Kenny.

"Then show us your lower back. If you're not hiding anything, and Bebe really was just seeing things, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Shit- damn Kenny. Damn him to hell. He really didn't want to lie about the meaning of the tattoo.

"My lower back is too close to my ass." He tried, hoping in vain that would be enough.

"Just show us your damn tramp stamp, Clahde."

"No! I don't have too!" He tried desperately to get them to back off, not wanting to reveal Token's tattoo sitting there.

"Clyde freaking Donovan, show us your back or I will _make_ you." Kenny threatened, keeping his tone light as he shuffled off of the bench, ready to pounce.

Wow, what a dick move. Who knew Kenny McCormick would pull something so dickish? Or not, as Kenny had a playful glint in his eyes. He was just joking, Clyde determined. He would never really invade someones privacy like that.

He never did have time to figure out if he was right or wrong, though, as Tweek ended up having one of his outbursts. They had grown rarer over the years, so it had been kind of a surprise when he let out a wordless shout and began to twitch, the old tweak coming back full force.

"G-guys! Don't f-f- ACK! Don't FIGHT!" He shouted, bolting out of Craig's arm and whipping his head back and forth to stare at the table with wide eyes.

"Oh Jesus Christ." Craig muttered, gently placing a shoulder on Tweek's shoulder. "Tweek? Tweek, look at me." Craig demanded quietly, waiting for the now twitchy blonde to turn and look at him.

"Tweek, baby. They aren't fighting, okay?" He gently cupped Tweek's cheek, looking him in the eyes with the most gentle look anyone had ever seen on him. "They're just teasing Clyde. Alright? It's harmless fun, babe. I promise. It's all okay." He rubbed Tweek's arm in the most reassuring and calming way he could, keeping one hand placed gently on the others cheek so he wouldn't look away.

When the twitching didn't seem to calm down, Craig continued speaking calmly, the rest of the table and some of the cafeteria effectively shut up by Tweek's previous out burst.

"Alright- babe, are you listening?" He asked quietly, waiting for the nod of acknowledgment before continuing. "Take deep breaths, okay? Do you want to go somewhere else?"

When quick movements of agreement came from the clearly freaking out blonde, Craig quickly got him up and lead him out of the cafeteria in order to calm him down.

"Well, shit. Good job, guys." Token stared around the table as he spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had settled after the two had left.

"Us?! You're the one who brought Clahde's tattoo-lessness! This is YOUR fault!" Cartman pointed an accusatory finger at the other, glaring at him.

"I was asking an innocent question! You're the ones who dragged it out!" The black boy defended, dropping his fork and squeezing Nichole's shoulder a bit.

"Guys." Clyde interrupted, before it could go any further. "Stop." He looked between Cartman and Token, practically begging them to not go any farther.

"Pfft." The fatter of the two crossed his arms, looking away. "Wha'eva. I didn't wanna fight with that _pussy_ anyways."

Token simply rolled his eyes, before returning his attention to Nichole.

Well didn't everyone feel just fucking peachy.

 **Admittedly, this is more of a test post just to see how this will go over with people who are interested in the ship. If I get enough positive feedback, I'll probably continue, but for now this is all I have.**


	2. Chapter 2

Love is hard.

That sentence resonated with Craig Tucker for multiple reasons.

For one, it was hard enough with just one person. Communication was admittedly a bit of a weak point between he and Tweek, both teens not being very good with it. Though they had somewhat of a non-verbal communication, they could never really properly talk about things. Admittedly, this lead to a few problems. Like when Craig would do something that would bother Tweek and not pick up on it, but Tweek didn't have it in him to say anything. Or when Craig couldn't figure out how to bring up things that needed to be brought up with Tweek.

But he could deal with shotty communication. It's not like he'd be much better with somebody else, so ultimately, it was perfect the way it was. He could handle a little lack of proper communication, and he could handle when Tweek doubted his love in the past. He could handle all of Tweek's struggles and his own, no matter how hard it got, because he loved him. To Craig, love meant struggles, and sacrifices, that were all okay because you loved the person.

But love was really hard, when it came to loving more than one person. Especially when that other person is the person you'd call your best friend. Well, right after Stripe, that is.

The struggles of figuring out what the hell was going on sucked. It was fine when one tattoo was the platonic tattoo of his best friend, and the other was Tweek's- a romantic one even all the way back in 7th grade. But when that platonic one was suddenly more than platonic, in a way he only figured out after his confused feelings were clarified in a dream, shit got confusing.

It was a totally new concept to Craig, to love more than one person. But fuck if it wasn't what he was experiencing. He knew he still loved Tweek- fuck, he loved him to no fucking ends. He'd do anything for him- except, maybe, give away Stripe. If Tweek were allergic to guinea pigs, he'd just have to stay out of his room until Stripe died. But he also loved a second person, he was sure of it.

He spent a long time dwelling on it, and he still had said nothing. With the help of the internet he'd discovered a name for what he was- polyamorous. It was a thing a lot of people were, it wasn't rare or anything. And with that new label- that nobody really knew he was but him- he tried to figure out what to do.

Poor lack of communication skills made him hesitate to ever tell Tweek what he was, especially when he remembered Tweek's past doubts of his love.

If anybody asked, the odd assortmant of what mildly looked like X's and T's, or like a blind person had tried to draw an astertisk, was platonic. It had been there since grade school, everybody knew about it. They knew about it because he had gotten mad when Clyde didn't have his tattoo, as if he had some sort of control over it.

Nobody had control over the tattoos.

Nobody had control over who they loved.

"C-Craig?" The shaking ball of fluffy hair that now stood still under Craig's arm brought the teen back to reality.

"I-I don't want to b-be in the – aAAH- the HALL anymore-" He spoke as quietly as he could, although still basically being in the midst of an attack didn't really allow him to be quiet. Oh god, it must've been so hard for him to say that. He was bad at saying what he wanted at all, let alone during or right after an attack.

"Alright, sorry about that," Craig murmured, gently squeezing Tweek's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, before leading him to the classroom they'd already been headed to.

The teacher in this class fully understood Tweek's need to get away sometimes, and stayed in the room during his free hours in case the blonde needed to come in to calm down. The door was always unlocked, and room 203 had become like a safe haven to both boys.

Gently, Craig opened the door, causing Mr. Wyland to look up at the two.

He smiled gently and stood up, picking up his food. Without a single word, he passed slowly by the two boys as they shuffled in, giving them a small nod as a greeting before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Such an understanding teacher- South Park needed more people like Mr. Wyland, in Craig's opinion.

Quickly, Tweek slipped out from Under Craig's arm, rushing to the corner desk he'd essentially claimed as his safe space.

Craig had learned the hard way that this meant Tweek needed space, but not to be alone. The first time it'd happened, Tweek hadn't said anything- often times he'd go entirely non-verbal, until he calmed down- and Craig had left him alone in the room. He came back to the poor guy having a total meltdown in the corner, disassociating and screaming at any physical touch. It took him an extra 3 hours to calm down after nearly half an hour of that.

Not sure how much space Tweek needed- Craig was never quite sure- Craig sat on Mr. Wyland's desk, careful to avoid any papers. He may be a dick, but he wouldn't sit on any of Mr. Wyland's shit. Some other teachers, sure, but not this one.

It was nearly 10 minutes later- way too close to the time the bell rang to get in any actual conversation- that Tweek spoke up.

"C-Craig,"

The raven looked up from his phone, having been reassuring Clyde that _everything is fine_ , letting out a questioning hum.

Tweek motioned for the younger teen to come closer, which he did, gently grabbing Tweek's hand and placing a gentle kiss over his own symbol as was habit.

"I-I love you," Tweek whispered, knowing full well that there was only a small chance Craig would say it back. He'd started saying it in 10th grade, because he really did love the boy with the chullo hat. Craig rarely said it back, which was actually part of the reason he doubted Craig's love so much in the past. It's not like he was emotionless, despite oddly popular belief. He was just, that bad with communication. He was awkward about the word, especially after hearing the occasional "I love you" come from his parents being replaced with constant screaming matches. He was bad when it came to love, was all. And Tweek understood it now, and cherished those rare times Craig said the words even more.

"I love you, too." Craig murmured, mouth still pressed against Tweek's wrist.

He brought Tweek's wrist away, still holding his hand. He turned his hand so he was displaying the symbol to Tweek.

"I love you. And this is proof."

He ran the fingers of his free hands over Tweek's wrist. "And this is proof you love me."

Tweek smiled gently, knowing his boyfriend did this to reassure himself they'd never be like his parents. He knew they wouldn't, they couldn't end up like them. They still loved each other.

They didn't have any other romantic symbols.

"You okay now?" Craig asked, looking up from his symbol to Tweek's face.

"Yeah," The blonde pushed himself off his position on the desk, now standing next to the taller of the two, moving his hand so the two were intertwined, gently squeezing Craig's hand.

"Good," Craig leaned over and kissed Tweek's cheek, just as the bell rang.

"Let's go."

 **Ugh. I had some of this written and then I lost it ALL. Really discouraging. I got really upset because I'm a crybaby.**

 **Also this is very, very far from the word count I wanted. I honestly just wanted to delve into the Creek part of the story, and I kinda lost the train of thought I had when writing it the first time, soo.. yeah. Sorry. I'll try and get a third chapter out sooner!**

 **Guest Review Replies**

 **S: Thank you very much! [Heart]**

 **Guest: I'm so glad you like the idea of C4 0u0 if you want to read more, I highly suggest** **Reposhillo** **! Their C4 fic** **Bad Day Equals Tacos and Cuddles** **is actually what inspired me to start writing a C4 at all. Somehow this glorious ship never came to mind before!**

 **I don't think I can say much about your theory without spoiling some part of this or something, since I have a few things planned out now, but I do like your theory!**

 **Guest: Ah, thank you so much! As I said above, check out** **Reposhillo** **!** **Really Lovely C4 Fanfictions. uwu**

 **oAo: Thank you so much! I hope you enoy this chapter, sorry it took me forever to get to!**

 **Thanks to CreeperKiller55, S, AnnMarie3711, prettydeadboys, deliciouslykawaiiphantom, and all 4 Guests for the reviews!**

 **Extra shout out to Reposhillo- check out their fics! (Originally this was a shoutout to their 2** **nd** **most recent C4 fic, but it took me a long time to get to this.)**


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